The state’s judicial branch, historically wanting in the ways of Beacon Hill, came out on top in the fight with Gov. Deval Patrick for control of probation and may have […]
Jack Sullivan
Jack Sullivan is now retired. A veteran of the Boston newspaper scene for nearly three decades. Prior to joining CommonWealth, he was editorial page editor of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, a part of the GateHouse Media chain. Prior to that he was news editor at another GateHouse paper, The Enterprise of Brockton, and also was city edition editor at the Ledger. Jack was an investigative and enterprise reporter and executive city editor at the Boston Herald and a reporter at The Boston Globe.
He has reported stories such as the federal investigation into the Teamsters, the workings of the Yawkey Trust and sale of the Red Sox, organized crime, the church sex abuse scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the State House, state and local politics, K-16 education, courts, crime, and general assignment.
Jack received the New England Press Association award for investigative reporting for a series on unused properties owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and shared the association's award for business for his reporting on the sale of the Boston Red Sox. As the Ledger editorial page editor, he won second place in 2007 for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association, the nation's oldest national journalism association of nearly 900 newspapers as members.
At CommonWealth, Jack and editor Bruce Mohl won first place for In-Depth Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors for a look at special education funding in Massachusetts. The same organization also awarded first place to a unique collaboration between WFXT-TV (FOX25) and CommonWealth for a series of stories on the Boston Redevelopment Authority and city employees getting affordable housing units, written by Jack and Bruce.
Field of dreams
The University of Massachusetts football program is looking to run with the big dogs, but the move to Division I-A comes with financial risks.Administration and athletic officials from the flagship […]
The next great thing
despite the economic woes in the country, investment in research and development continues to expand in all public, private, and nonprofit sectors, according to federal statistics. Nowhere is that impact […]
Untethered competition
wireless phones, it seems, are ubiquitous. Talking, texting, surfing. On the street, on the T, and in the car. You can’t swing a dead Samsung without hitting someone with a […]
Reigning supreme
Ronald Arruda is the clerk-magistrate of the Bristol Juvenile Court, which is a little like saying he is the king of his court. He was appointed to the job by […]
Judge rips T on ‘squishy’ arguments
A federal judge ripped the MBTA yesterday for shoddy recordkeeping, “squishy” legal arguments, and depositions “designed to avoid the dangers of perjury” during a hearing in the agency’s $91.5 million […]
Patrick wants health bill faster
Gov. Deval Patrick amped up the pressure on the Legislature today to move faster on health care reform, saying recent statements by House Speaker Robert DeLeo and a top lieutenant […]
Mapping a survival strategy
All eyes are on how state lawmakers will wedge 10 incumbents into nine congressional districts. But first, and with potentially more impact, the legislative cartographers have to figure out how […]
DeLeo promises more transparency in courts
House Speaker Robert DeLeo says he wants the embattled probation department to remain in the judiciary but is filing a bill that would put a professional administrator in charge of […]
Knocked off track
Click here for more Back Stories. Don’t get Back Story? Sign up here. Is there a calculable dollar value inherent in warranties? That could be the key question in the […]
T denies warranty change for ties
The MBTA in court filings denies it agreed to a change in the warranty on concrete ties it purchased for the Old Colony commuter rail line and hints that political […]
Mulligan, Heffernan bid for Probation
Video highlights from “A New Path for Probation” As the top administrative judge and Gov. Deval Patrick’s public safety secretary each made their pitch to oversee the state’s troubled probation […]
Cracks in T tie suit
Newly filed court documents indicate the MBTA agreed to pare back a warranty on concrete railroad ties it purchased in 1994 and now could be left holding the bag for […]
Ireland appeals to keep probation
The state’s top judge today strongly urged the governor, speaker and Senate president to keep the Probation Department under the judiciary, threatening that putting the embattled agency under the executive […]
Health plans are tiering up
a new law is prodding health insurers to design plans that would force their customers to pay more out of pocket if they go to a more expensive hospital or […]
Swearing off earmarks
earmarks. you might as well insert a profanity into the federal budget with all the disdain that has been dumped on the term. For decades, incumbent congressmen touted their ability […]
Piloting through shortfalls
massachusetts communities lead the nation in reaping revenues from tax-exempt properties, but the payments represent pennies on the dollar compared to what municipalities would bring in if the land were […]
Name that malady
First, The Beatles, now flagellate hyperpigmentation. There’s no limit for the apps someone can download for their iPhone or iPod. The New England Journal of Medicine now has a smartphone […]
Money for nothing
kathryn harper and her husband, Winston, were beside themselves one weekend in early November. The 63-year-old Salem grandmother had just scratched a $5 Massachusetts State Lottery ticket and discovered she […]
Shifting the burden
it’s a cautious dance trying to find the balance between maximizing local revenues and squeezing too much out of property owners. Too much of a burden on homeowners can cause […]
Patrick gets quacking
Click here for more Back Stories. Don’t get Back Story? Sign up here. If it looks like a lame duck, walks like a lame duck and quacks like a lame […]
Politics vs policyat Vets Services
Across the street from the State House, where Gov. Deval Patrick was taking the oath of office for his second term, a hardy band of intergenerational brothers gathered […]
O’Brien files for state pension
Embattled former Probation Commissioner John J. O’Brien filed for his state pension on New Year’s Eve, the same day he abruptly resigned his $130,000 post rather than face a disciplinary […]
